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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27708221">Going Forward</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sochill/pseuds/sochill'>sochill</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Knowing and Being Known (in Order to Love and Be Loved) [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek &amp; Paul/Levenson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - College/University, College AU, Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 14:48:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,017</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27708221</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sochill/pseuds/sochill</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jared and Evan figure out dating from different colleges.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Evan Hansen/Jared Kleinman</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Knowing and Being Known (in Order to Love and Be Loved) [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1987372</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>66</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Going Forward</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The first month of college had been hard. The second month had been harder. Jared was drowning in homework and trying to make friends and keeping himself alive. And between it all he had to find as many spare seconds as he could to talk to Evan.</p><p>Evan was needy, that wasn’t a surprise. Jared didn’t mind it. It was nice to know someone was missing him. Nicer to know that it was someone he missed just as much. So Evan was needy and a bit clingy, but he was never angry when Jared was busy. He didn’t get upset if Jared had plans and couldn’t call him one night. There were a few tense conversations. One full out fight. It didn’t last long. Jared called him the next day to apologize and Evan was already saying he was sorry before Jared could even start talking. But for the most part it was good. Evan asked for bits of Jared’s time but he was understanding when Jared couldn’t give them. And Jared thought part of Evan’s trust came from the fact that Jared really did try to make as much time for Evan as he possibly could. To make sure Evan knew he wasn’t forgetting about him sure, but also so Jared could keep himself sane.</p><p>He liked college a lot. His roommate Peter was really cool and they had a little group of friends on their floor that they hung out with all the time. His classes were hard but also kinda fun. They were challenging and kept Jared interested. He liked trying to cook and he liked studying in the library and he even liked doing his laundry at 2 a.m. with Peter.</p><p>But he was also tired. A lot. He missed his mom sometimes. He missed his bed back home sometimes. And he missed Evan constantly. They texted back and forth all day. Replying whenever they found time. And sometimes they could squeeze a phone call in between classes or in the afternoon on the weekend. But most of their communication came from their almost nightly facetime calls. Jared would take his headphones into the hall of his dorm building and sit on the floor and talk to Evan while his roommate slept. It was hard.</p><p>They had plans to visit in a month. Near the end of October. And then they’d see each other for Thanksgiving back home. And winter break. But that all felt so far away. And the commute between their schools was only two hours but that felt so far too.</p><p>Evan wasn’t having a much better time. In fact, he was having a much worse time.</p><p>He liked his roommate, he said. He was nice, but they weren’t <em>friends</em>. They didn’t hang out. His roommate had his own friends that he went out with. So Evan spent most of his time alone in his room. He was keeping his grades up okay. But sometimes he forgot to eat. And sometimes he didn’t sleep. And sometimes he called Jared in the middle of the day because he was having a panic attack in the bathroom. Jared tried not to worry too much. He knew if he freaked out then Evan would freak out worse.</p><p>So he called Evan whenever he could. And he celebrated when Evan made friends and when he got out of his room. And he let Evan introduce the neighbor he’d befriended to him over facetime. And in between that all, he reminded Evan to eat dinner and talked to him until he fell asleep and promised him they’d see each other soon. And that helped. But there was only so much Jared could do over the phone.</p><p>“I don’t want to be here anymore.” Evan was crying. He had one hand over his face and the hand that was holding his phone was shaking terribly. “I’m so lonely and sad all the time.” He choked out.</p><p>“You’re not always alone.” Jared said softly. “You have Leah and Mark.”</p><p>“They’re barely friends.” Evan shook his head. “They just put up with me.”</p><p>“That’s not true and you know it.” Jared said firmly.</p><p>Evan just continued to cry. Jared’s heart broke into tiny pieces.</p><p>“Evan, hey, it’s gonna be okay.”</p><p>“It’s not.” Evan sobbed.</p><p>“It will. I promise you it will.” Jared wished he could reach through the screen and hug Evan until he had no tears left.</p><p>“I don’t…I just…” Evan shook his head. He lifted his face to look at Jared with puffy eyes. “I miss you.”</p><p>“I miss you too.” Jared smiled sadly. “Just a few more weeks.”</p><p>“It feels like it’s never going to stop being like this.”</p><p>“I know.” Jared sighed. “But things will get better. I promise you.”</p><p>“Yeah.” Evan wiped his eyes and took a deep breath. “I have a test in the morning.”</p><p>Jared nodded. “You should get some sleep.”</p><p>“I love you.”</p><p>“I love you too. I’ll talk to you tomorrow okay?”</p><p>Evan nodded. “Goodnight Jared.”</p><p>“Goodnight.”</p><p>Jared ended the call and stood up. He walked into his room and started throwing things into his backpack, using his phone as a flashlight.</p><p>Peter sat up and squinted at him. “Going somewhere?”</p><p>“Uh yeah. I got something to take care of. Take notes for me tomorrow yeah?”</p><p>“Sure man.” Peter nodded and then rolled over.</p><p>Jared grabbed his keys and stepped into the hall.</p><p> </p><p>Evan had started school two weeks before Jared. So Jared had gone to help him move in with Heidi. And before he left, Evan handed Jared his extra dorm key. It was mostly a joke, he knew Jared wouldn’t be visiting all that often. But Jared was glad he had it now.</p><p>He walked into the building behind a group of students who had clearly just gotten back from a party. With the way they were stumbling and giggling, the girl at the front desk barely gave Jared a second look. He stepped into the elevator and pushed the button for Evan’s floor. He started to get nervous as the elevator finally opened. He was pretty sure Evan’s room was 309 but what if it wasn’t? And some random person thought he was trying to break into their room? Or what if the key somehow worked on someone else’s door?</p><p>Jared shook his head. That was ridiculous. Besides, remembering the look on Evan’s face, Jared decided he’d kick down doors if he had to. But he was glad he had the key because he was pretty sure he didn’t actually have the physical strength required to kick down a door.</p><p>He walked up to 309 and slid the key in as gently as he could. He turned it and heard the lock click. He sighed and pushed the door open.</p><p>He wasn’t entirely sure what he was expecting to see when he stepped inside. Probably darkness. What he wasn’t expecting was Evan’s roommate to be standing in front of him, illuminated by the light from the hall.</p><p>“Uh…” Jared faltered. “Sorry. I’m-”</p><p>“Evan’s boyfriend.” The roommate nodded. Jared was blanking on his name.</p><p>“Yeah. How’d you know?”</p><p>Roommate nodded to the wall above Evan’s bed which seemed to be plastered with pictures. Jared couldn’t make them out in the dark but he assumed he was in at least a few.</p><p>“Ah.” Jared blushed slightly. “Um, I was just here to-”</p><p>“I don’t really care.” Roommate shrugged and stepped around Jared. “I’m going to a friend’s. Don’t fuck on my desk.”</p><p>“Whoa dude I was just-” The door closed, throwing the room into darkness. “Okay then.” Jared spun around and made his way over to Evan’s bed.</p><p>Evan was curled up, fast asleep. Jared almost didn’t want to wake him. But he was extremely tired and he figured it would be better to let Evan know he was here now than have him wake up to a person in getting in his bed.</p><p>“Evan.” He whispered, shaking him gently. “Hey. Wake up.”</p><p>Evan mumbled something and didn’t open his eyes.</p><p>“Evan.” Jared shook him harder.</p><p>Evan started and opened his eyes. He frowned. “Jared?”</p><p>“Hi.” Jared smiled.</p><p>Evan blinked. And then he sat up and launched himself at Jared. Jared laughed and squeezed him tight.</p><p>“Why are you here? How are you here?”</p><p>“Because you were sad.” Jared shrugged which was a little difficult to do when Evan wouldn’t release him. But he wasn’t complaining. “And I drove that’s how.”</p><p>“You drove two hours in the middle of the night because I was sad?”</p><p>“No.” Jared pushed Evan away long enough to kick his shoes off and climb under the blankets with him. “I drove two hours in the middle of the night because I love you.”</p><p>“You’re an idiot.” Evan mumbled, burying his face in Jared’s shoulder.</p><p>“That’s beside the point.” Jared stroked his hair. “I missed you jelly bean.”</p><p>“You have class tomorrow.”</p><p>“Yeah. It’s fine.”</p><p>“It’s like three a.m.”</p><p>“Mhm.”</p><p>“You broke into my dorm building.”</p><p>“It was very easy.”</p><p>“I love you so much.”</p><p>Jared smiled. “I love you so much too.” He kissed Evan’s head. “I’m sorry you’re feeling bad.”</p><p>“I hate it here.” Evan mumbled into his shoulder. “I’m so miserable. I hate it so much.”</p><p>“Then transfer somewhere else.” Jared shrugged.</p><p>“What?” Evan leaned away to look at him.</p><p>“Transfer.” He repeated. “Why should you stay here if you’re so unhappy?”</p><p>“I only got accepted by one other school and they didn’t give me any financial aid.”</p><p>“So apply somewhere new. Hell,” Jared smiled slightly. “Apply to my school.”</p><p>“Is that a joke?”</p><p>“Well, kinda but no. No wait seriously. They’re really good about financial aid,” Jared started talking quickly. “And we have an eco-club and a gardening club and there’s a state park like twenty minutes away. And we have your major. It’s perfect for you. Oh and there’s this restaurant on campus I know you’d love. Oh my god Evan come to school with me.”</p><p>“You really want me to?”</p><p>“Yeah! We could get a dorm together and I can introduce you to my friends and- wait.” Jared frowned, finally processing Evan’s question. “Why wouldn’t I want you to?”</p><p>“I don’t know. You have a whole life there. Friends and a job and stuff.”</p><p>“Yeah. So?”</p><p>“So, it’s different than back home. This is new and… separate.”</p><p>“Not separate from you idiot.” Jared rolled his eyes. “I talk about you all the time. They know about you.”</p><p>“Yeah but that’s different than me actually being there and you know it.”</p><p>“Okay sure. You’re right. I have an entirely separate life there. No connections to high school or to home. But I still want you to be there. I want you to be a part of all the different lives I acquire. You’re the constant.”</p><p>“Okay.” Evan said quietly. “I’ll apply.”</p><p>“Yeah?” Jared smiled. “Not just for me though right? I mean I really think you’d like it there a lot.”</p><p>“Sure. For the other stuff too.” Evan nodded. “It sounds nice.”</p><p>“It is.” Jared squeezed him. “It’ll be great.”</p><p>“I’m just applying. I don’t know if I’ll actually get in.” Evan reminded him.</p><p>“Right. I know.” Jared nodded. “And even if you do, you don’t <em>have</em> to go. Who knows, maybe you’ll end up loving it here by the end of the semester.”</p><p>Evan snorted. “Right.”</p><p>“But you’ll have another option.”</p><p>“Yeah.” Evan scooted over and curled into Jared’s side. “A good option.”</p><p>“A very cool option.” Jared ran his hand through Evan’s hair. “And I can show you-”</p><p>“Jared?”</p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p>“I really appreciate that you came all the way out here. Seriously. But I do have a test at nine a.m. so I really need you to be quiet so I can go back to sleep now.”</p><p>“Right.” Jared zipped his lips. “I’ll be quiet.”</p><p>Evan shifted to get more comfortable.</p><p>“I love you.” Jared said softly even though he was supposed to be shutting up.</p><p>“I love you too.” Evan mumbled.</p><p>And Jared thought he’d probably never get tired of hearing that.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is the end of the series! This was such a fun project for me! I worked on it for so long and I appreciate the lovely response it's gotten from all of you. Thank you for reading, commenting, and leaving kudos!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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